This proof-of-concept prototype uses a lot of the ideas that we’ve seen in projection mapping. However, it dynamically adapts to the appearance and geometry of the room (captured by Kinect). While the video has a “Hollywood” touch, it shows the actual real-time prototype (no special effects added in post-production).

It appears that one company is prepared to make the next logical step for pico projectors, embedding pico projectors in cell-phones.

For a while now I’ve had a 3M MPro110 to fool around with. This projector that fits into the palm of your hand is a great idea for sharing content on the go. Users can share movies and videos using any display surface at a varying size. Additionally, pico projectors will enable a host of other interesting applications in the field of spatially augmented reality and projection mapping(more on this later).

However, in execution the device is merely a toy. At a whopping 6 Ansi Lumens the content is only easily visible in a pitch black room. Additionally, pico projectors have the difficulty of getting content into the device itself, resulting in long VGA cables. The MPro110 has a particularly faulty cable that won’t stay connected properly. Essentially, the device generating the content and projecting the content need to be integrated. A laptop without a display, or a display without a laptop is useless.